Pursuing God by Radical Gratitude

I’ve been reading Ann Voskamp’s 1,000 Gifts. Many parts of it resonate with me, and I encourage you to check it out and give it a read. She has a unique writing style that utilizes colorful descriptive language, and a semi-stream-of-consciousness flow to her writing which I usually find unappealing, but the truth which punctuates her work is highly relatable and makes the book worth while.

So, in honor of putting to good use what I’ve been learning by going through this book with my mentor, I decided to share 20 things for which I am abundantly thankful, in no particular order.

1. No student loan debt
2. No car payments
3. No credit card debt- or debt at all!
4. New roof on my home through the rainy season
5. Sunflowers about to bloom
6. Flowering elderberry bushes
7. Giant Cinderella pumpkins blossoming
8. Green beans to harvest
9. Abundant growth in the gardens
10. My infant’s gummy smile
11. The obedience of my 5 year old
12. God’s Word made flesh
13. The Holy Bible
14. Farm fresh eggs
15. Natural rock on my property
16. Power tools
17. Full bellies
18. Inquisitive children
19. Naptime silence
20. Clean dishes

Wow, I actually could keep going- I’m on a roll today. How about 20 more?

1. The gift of homeownership
2. The gift of motherhood
3. My Salvation in Christ
4. Waking up with a hymn stuck in my head
5. Running water
6. My health
7. Black coffee with coconut oil and grassfed butter
8. My husband
9. A sea of grey-blue eyes blinking back at me from around the breakfast table
10. Little shoes for little feet
11. Grass-stained skin
12. The smell of rich, fertile soil
13. Clean sheets
14. A washing machine and dryer
15. My animals
16. Dirt under my fingernails
17. When the house smells like breakfast
18. Clean floors
19. Minty toothpaste
20. Berkey-filtered water

All of these things are gifts. Many times, I miss seeing them as gifts. There are so many times I choose anger and discontentment because they’re more easily accessible in tough situations. But that choice ultimately robs me of joy every time.

The choice to see the gift, then thank God for it, and to receive it as His blessing to me- that creates joy. I wanna be a joy factory. I want to live into my name- to be a “delight” for the people around me, and to be a source of life and encouragemrnt instead of a joyless drain on their lives.

So far, I’ve counted nearly 300 gifts. Far from 1,000, but I’m still hunting them down and thanking God for each and every one.